Russia-Ukraine ceasefire violation: Trump says he will call Putin, then Zelensk

US President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries about ending the war in Ukraine Trump said the call with Putin will be about stopping the bloodbath in UkraineHopefully it will be a productive day a ceasefire will take place and this very violent war a war that should have never happened will end Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social networking site Truth SocialKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in comments to Russian media that preparations were underway for Mondays call Trumps remarks came a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire Putin had spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys offer to meet facetoface in Turkiye after he himself proposed direct negotiations although not at the presidential level as an alternative to a 30day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies including the USAlso on Saturday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov During a visit to Rome Rubio suggested that the Vatican could be a venue for RussiaUkraine peace talksIn Ukraine a northeastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from frontline areas killing nine people Ukrainian officials said The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul after agreeing to what would be the biggest prisoner swap to date between the warring partiesZelenskyy faces a gamble as talks stallThe talks in Istanbul on Friday broke up after less than two hours without a ceasefire although both sides agreed on exchanging 1000 prisoners of war each according to the heads of both delegations Ukraines intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on Ukrainian television Saturday that the exchange could happen as early as next weekBut the Kremlin has pushed back against a proposal by Ukraine and its Western allies for a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement and the parties remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting Since USbrokered talks began in March Ukraines strategy has been to convince the Trump administration that Putin is unreliable and that Kyiv is serious about peace Trump has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to abandon his efforts if results arent achievedHe has also said that no peace would be reached until he held a face to face meeting with Putin On Friday Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Abu Dhabi that he may call Putin soon He and I will meet and I think well solve it or maybe not Trump said At least well knowThe political theatrics are underscored by stark realities on the ground in Ukraine In a war of attrition against Russias fullscale invasion Ukraines position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the US continues arms deliveriesZelenskyy said that he had discussed the outcome of the talks with Trump and the leaders of France Germany Britain and Poland In an X post from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday Zelenskyy urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killingsPeskov on Saturday held open the possibility of Putin holding talks with Zelenskyy providing the agreed prisoner swap goes ahead and if the Russian and Ukrainian delegations reached unspecified further agreementsPeskov also told reporters that Moscow will present Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire but gave no timeframe or say what needed to happen before Zelenskyy and Putin can meetA town in mourningIn Ukraine nine civilians were killed and seven others were wounded when a Russian drone struck a bus evacuating people from Bilopillia a town around 10 kilometres from Russias border according to local Gov Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraines national police The Associated Press couldnt independently verify the reports There was no immediate comment from MoscowZelenskyy described the attack as deliberate killing of civilians adding in a post on the Telegram messaging app that Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hittingThe local media outlet Suspilne said that the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the town when the strike happened Authorities are working to identify some of the victims most of them older womenLocal community chief Yurii Zarko called the day Black Saturday and mourning was declared in the town through Monday Zelenskyy lamented the missed opportunity from Fridays peace talks saying that Ukraine has long proposed this a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save livesUkraines European allies strongly condemned the attack UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that he was appalled by it If Putin is serious about peace Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire as Ukraine has done he wrote on XGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaking at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned Russia for continuing their attacks today with undiminished ferocity He vowed to continue to increase the pressure on Moscow with added sanctionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params